Anyone own one of these hoists?

Six-Gun

http://www.discountramps.com/deer-hoist/p/DEER-HOIST/?CID=PSC-PLA-Google-Deer-Hoist-hunting-products&st-t=google-hunting-products&vt-pti=18283950120&vt-k=&vt-m=&CAWELAID=820562990000010965&CAGPSPN=pla&CAAGID=23066241262&CATCI=pla-18283950120&gclid=Cj0KEQjw8pC9BRCqrq37zZil4a0BEiQAZO_zrGSTJ-oYeVz9WOoZ83vFhcMBkC4b7u9mwkV7Q-hVd2AaAt6Y8P8HAQ

It looks pretty sweet if you own a decent-sized property, and you want to take the skinning job to where the deer fell rather than vice versa. That can spare a lot of cleanup time and minimize the labor involved in moving the deer more times to get it to the shed/garage and hung long term. I'm just curious if it's as functional as it looks at face value. Thoughts?

Zee

I've contemplated getting similar, but..........hanging game is not conducive to my terminal performance autopsies. So, I just lay a tarp in the bed of my truck and use my tailgate as an "operating table".

Six-Gun

C'mon now. Time to get creative. Deer on vertical hoist + hockey mask + chainsaw = all sorts of fun when the neighbors call the cops.

In all seriousness, this seems like a great contraption. A little thing that draws some speculative scrutiny is the length of the horizontal offset at the top: is it far enough out to allow free cranking of the handle, or will the carcass obstruct it and make life irritating? Minor, but I am curious.

shootbrownelk

I built one of those some years ago, never used it. Gave it to a friend who does. He loves it.

Zee

Six-Gun wrote: »

C'mon now. Time to get creative. Deer on vertical hoist + hockey mask + chainsaw = all sorts of fun when the neighbors call the cops.

Oh, they slow down and stare enough with my bloody mess in the driveway as it is! Ha!

Six-Gun

My favorite is hunting one of the gated spots on base that requires you to sign out a key from the base cops, then coming back a bloody mess to turn it back in. They actually get a kick out of it, but it definitely must look odd to a non-hunter/outside observer seeing a guy looking like he just committed a murder walking directly into a police station.

shootbrownelk wrote: »

I built one of those some years ago, never used it. Gave it to a friend who does. He loves it.

Good to know. Any particular reason why you got no use out of it (design gripes), or was it one of those things where you just had a better way to get the job done?

Jayhawker

We built one of these . Hang em up, drop their guts in a bucket (coyote bait) and pivot them into the pickup bed....easy for one guy to get his deer (or multiple deer) loaded...I had several gambrels so when I got home I could just back into the garage under the hoist...

bisley

I have one, but haven't hoisted anything with it. I hope to, this year. I always do my bloody work in the field, so I can get the meat on ice, quicker.

Six-Gun

Jayhawker -

You just hit my vision for what this thing would be great for right between the eyes. It's seems a helluva lot easier than trying to load a deer solo, by hand, onto the tailgate with frozen fingers in the dead of winter.

bisley wrote: »

I have one, but haven't hoisted anything with it. I hope to, this year. I always do my bloody work in the field, so I can get the meat on ice, quicker.

bisley -

If you get to use it early season, let me know how you like it. It's not a burning need, so I can wait, but I definitely value another field report.

Jayhawker

I hit on it after dropping a couple of big dry does in a muddy wheatfield....couldn't drive into it for fear of messing up the property owners crop and getting stuck. By the time I got them out to the road I was seriously tuckered out, wrestling them into the truck took forever....and a little voice in my head said "there's got to be a better way" Mechanical advantage rules....

Six-Gun

Yup. All day long. One of the most dangerous assists I ever got dragged involved a kid on base who dropped a nice-sized doe with his bow during the annual golf course control hunt. To access his spot in the woods around the golf course, he had to cross a shallow creek. So, naturally, he had to drag his deer through said creek to get it over to your vehicle.

The creek itself wasn't the issue, and it was maybe 8 inches at its deepest, and easily overcome with the longshank rubber boots he was wearing. The risk came after the deer got wet. By the time this young guy flagged me down for help, the deer was completely covered in frozen or nearly frozen water. He had no rope with him that we could cinch to a hardpoint in the bed. Worse, he had a brand new, lifted pickup truck with no textured/spray-in bedliner - just an old school paint finished bed that was slick as snot to my own snow-covered boots.

I got up in the bed to try to help him lift this doe, gave it a good pull upward to try and overcome the excess height of the suspension lift, and nearly cracked my skull open on the edge of the bed when my feet slipped loose from a combination of the doe dropping ice pellets/freezing water into the truck bed, the snow on my boots and the untextured bed surface. That whole production was a whole lot harder than it needed to be and there's no way in hell he would've been able to load that deer by himself. If he had a hoist like this, life would've been much easier.

shootbrownelk

Six-Gun wrote: »

My favorite is hunting one of the gated spots on base that requires you to sign out a key from the base cops, then coming back a bloody mess to turn it back in. They actually get a kick out of it, but it definitely must look odd to a non-hunter/outside observer seeing a guy looking like he just committed a murder walking directly into a police st

Good to know. Any particular reason why you got no use out of it (design gripes), or was it one of those things where you just had a better way to get the job done?

I just never got around to using it. It was set up with a boat winch and cable and it pivoted at the center after pulling a pin. I've been gutting them out on the ground and skinning in my garage for so long now...I resisted change.

Farm Boy Deuce

I have started to build one of those on several occasions, can't remember now why I never did.

A buddy of mine has built several, for family and himself. His favorite design broke down into two or three pieces and swiveled.

I still need to build one. Work smarter, not harder.

Varmintmist

For up and in? maybe, but a block and tackle and a piece of plywood would be every bit as useful.

If you had to skin and quarter in the field to get it on ice, maybe. I drop the guts before I drag, work smarter, not harder. However if you like gutting verticle, might be OK.

I skin quarter and cut a lot of the deer at the same time. I hang them in the garage and I have water, tools, towels, and best of all, heat.

Jayhawker

We used to save our gut piles in buckets and put bucket and all in an old (working) chest freezer. After deer season we would place these "gutcicles" in places where we were hunting coyotes....hey...it works...

In an ideal sitiation, if I get my deer close to home and it's cool.... I prefer to hang my deer and skin them before I gut them...cuts down on hair on the carcass...

Uncle Fester

Jayhawker wrote: »

We built one of these . Hang em up, drop their guts in a bucket (coyote bait) and pivot them into the pickup bed....easy for one guy to get his deer (or multiple deer) loaded...I had several gambrels so when I got home I could just back into the garage under the hoist...

I have been thinking of building one to lift rocks and other heavy stuff into my utility trailer.

Btw - who thinks it would be hysterical (but "wrong" in so many ways) to see someone driving down the highway with a gutted deer flying behind the truck like a kite #airdrying

Six-Gun

I usually do my work in the garage. I have a block and tackle gambrel in there and it's definitely warmer than outside, but I get blood and hair all over when I work in there, especially when skinning.

Getting it physically into the truck with a few cranks and a rotation would be a big bonus. Even after field dressing, it can be a PITA to get a buck or even a large doe in there solo. Unless it's whipping wind hard, I figure I can just take the Mr. Heater out there with me and take care of the lion's share of the messy business in the field, then just back the skinned carcass up to the garage and put in on the gambrel in there to hang.

shootbrownelk

Six-Gun wrote: »

I usually do my work in the garage. I have a block and tackle gambrel in there and it's definitely warmer than outside, but I get blood and hair all over when I work in there, especially when skinning.

Getting it physically into the truck with a few cranks and a rotation would be a big bonus. Even after field dressing, it can be a PITA to get a buck or even a large doe in there solo. Unless it's whipping wind hard, I figure I can just take the Mr. Heater out there with me and take care of the lion's share of the messy business in the field, then just back the skinned carcass up to the garage and put in on the gambrel in there to hang.

I've got a 4,500 lb. winch mounted in the rafters in my shop. I used it last year for skinning & quartering my moose. I have my shop set-up with benches with removable countertops for butchering. I have heat and running water. I use it a lot for Elk/Deer and Antelope for friends too. A Rigid sawzall is indispensable too. The hoist I built was extra tall for the Elk. I just may build another....you guys are making some valid points, and I'm basically lazy anyhow. I do love fabricating things however....it was a fun project if I remember correctly.

bisley

None of the difficulties of getting the meat from the field and into freezer concerned me much, one way or the other, when I was younger and more flexible. But having hunted alone, in middle age, for a couple years has convinced me to take every shortcut to avoid stooping and straining in odd positions. I find that working on a hanging carcass is a necessity, unless I have some help.

Six-Gun

cpj wrote: »

If I hunted somewhere other than my uncles, or, at a place where I didn't have help I'd damn sure build one. At my uncles place there is a tree that has pretty good lean to it. We have a cable down there that we loop around the neck, other end goes to the truck. Pull that sucker up and get to gutting.

That's how we did it in Nevada when I shot my first mulie. We had a campsite with a perfectly leaned tree, a heavy limb, and easy height to toss a rope over it. Hooked the rope up to the tow hitch on my truck, tossed the line over the tree and tied it to a gambrel. Boom - lifted deer and easy skin work. We wrapped him in a gauze sheet to thwart the flies and let him hang in the shade for a few days before quartering and packing him out.

Farm Boy Deuce

I have seen a deer being transported through town with one of these. It was a Ford Explorer or Expedition with a deer stretched out, tied to the rear bumper and wrapped in a blue tarp.

BigDanS

I do not have one, but I think it has a couple design flaws. First, I would want it far enough out that I could still open my tailgate. My bed area is where I keep a lot of gear and it is sealed up, so I would not want to be in a position where I needed to get something out, but the game was hanging and made it impossible to do unless it was removed.

Second, it would be better if it could swing or swivel at the base with a pin to hold it in place. That way you could skin and gut, turn it 180 degrees and drop it into the bed. Not really a problem with smaller game, but if something were bigger, like Midwest deer or mulies it might be handy.

It looks heavy and cumbersome to drag around. Meanwhile for under $30 's has this, and there are a lot of trees where most of us hunt.

http://www.dickssportinggoods.com/product/index.jsp?productId=23037566&camp=CSE:GooglePLA:23037566:16486372-DSG:HUNTING_BIG-GAME_BIG-GAME-ACCESS&gclid=CMnXrf6tr84CFcFbhgodjYkMfw



D

timc

I've got one, finally broke down after all these years because I am getting to where I just can't toss them up in the bed of the truck like I used to.
If you get one I recommend the one with the swivel so you can swing it around and lower it into the bed of the truck. Mine is rated for 500 ounds and works really well.

shootbrownelk

I've decided to build another one. The last one was extra tall for bigger critters, and it did swivel to drop the load in the bed and it did clear the lowered tailgate. This one will get built with the addition of a small, removable 1,500-2,000 lb. electric winch.
Did I mention that I'm old and lazy?

Six-Gun

BigDanS wrote: »

I do not have one, but I think it has a couple design flaws. First, I would want it far enough out that I could still open my tailgate. My bed area is where I keep a lot of gear and it is sealed up, so I would not want to be in a position where I needed to get something out, but the game was hanging and made it impossible to do unless it was removed.

Second, it would be better if it could swing or swivel at the base with a pin to hold it in place. That way you could skin and gut, turn it 180 degrees and drop it into the bed. Not really a problem with smaller game, but if something were bigger, like Midwest deer or mulies it might be handy.

It looks heavy and cumbersome to drag around. Meanwhile for under $30 's has this, and there are a lot of trees where most of us hunt.

http://www.dickssportinggoods.com/product/index.jsp?productId=23037566&camp=CSE:GooglePLA:23037566:16486372-DSG:HUNTING_BIG-GAME_BIG-GAME-ACCESS&gclid=CMnXrf6tr84CFcFbhgodjYkMfw

D

I own one of those block and tackle gambrels that [Richard's] sells and would never be without one. Mine is the HME version, but it's effectively the same thing, but with a higher weight rating and portable carry case (and it's actually a few bucks cheaper).

http://www.dickssportinggoods.com/product/index.jsp?productId=11854244&clickid=prod_cs&recid=Product_PageElement_product1_rr_1_1356



It makes life way easier when lifting a deer to the rafters and only runs about $20.

That said, I'm thinking of when I own my retirement property and hopefully have enough land to fret moving the deer over a big, open range, and the inevitable difficulty of getting the deer into/onto the truck as I age. The version like what timc posted - with the rotating swivel in the center - lets you do the 180 degree thing. While they are assuredly heavy, if I'm looking at it right, they appear to break down easily by pulling the pin, and could just be kept under a bed cover all season long until you needed it.

I love the fixed block and tackle gambrel hoist and use mine every season when a deer goes down, but it's the asspain involved with getting a deer into the bed open country that has me perked up for this other solution.

Six-Gun

The Nissan bed rails system is *awesome* and the matching tie downs would work perfectly to hook up and center a second/dedicated truck gambrel to slide the deer into the bed. The problem with my current truck is that it's a shortbed. To get boards long enough to make for a gradual, useful ramp, I'd have to sacrifice using the bed cover. The city kid in me never fully left, and I ALWAYS - even on private land - lock the bed and cab due to the threat of trespassers/thieves finding my truck unattended. That's a deal breaker for hauling boards unless I want unload and hide them every time out.

Varmintmist

How short? 3 foot?
6' is plenty. its a deer not a bulldozer. The mechanical advantage to a block and tackle will suck a carcass up a 1:1 with no problem. If you could keep the tailgate from closing, you wouldnt need a ramp. I hoist with a b-t from the garage floor to about 8' straight up.
You could go with those aluminum ATV ramps and screw some 1/4 luan to them.

http://www.walmart.com/ip/7.5-Pair-Aluminum-Loading-Ramps-Pickup-Truck-Trailer-Motorcycle-ATV-Lawnmower/46149008?action=product_interest&action_type=title&item_id=46149008&placement_id=irs-106-t1&strategy=PWVAV&visitor_id&category=&client_guid=3403fde1-886e-45c2-abad-d8aa4b40cf61&customer_id_enc&config_id=106&parent_item_id=22084813&parent_anchor_item_id=22084813&guid=3c66cf15-9c74-41dd-9bfc-c13af3a35545&bucket_id=irsbucketdefault&beacon_version=1.0.1&findingMethod=p13n

wouldnt even need luan

Six-Gun

5' and it's pretty steep at that length. I had ATV ramps for it for a little bit back when I owned one and it was way too dicey using ramps at that angle. I sold the ramps and bought a flatbed trailer for it. You're right, though, in that we're not talking 700+ lbs. More like 200 lbs. max.

Six-Gun

Varminmist -

I do exactly the same with my garage pulley setup. With the gap between the ceiling and the bottom of the gambrel, I'm taking my deer up about 8' from the floor at the gambrel.

Speaking of this whole ramp topic, does anyone sell just the OEM lips that go on the end of a board to make it work as a ramp? A set of those would at least be worth trying. [Richard's] up the street is only about a week away from putting those gambrel's back on the shelves and the cost of trying can't be much overall. Honestly, the boards themselves are probably getting close to what the gambrel costs.

Teach

Six-Gun wrote: »

To get boards long enough to make for a gradual, useful ramp, I'd have to sacrifice using the bed cover.

Make a visit to your local hardware store- - - - -they have these useful, handy devices called "hinges". Put one in the center of each board, and they fold up for easy storage!

Problem solved!
Jerry

Edit: Harbor Freight or Northern Tool has metal ends that fit 2X6 boards for building riding lawn mower ramps. They would also work for deer drags.
Here's one of several designs on Ebay:

http://www.ebay.com/itm/ALUMINIUM-LOADING-RAMP-END-KIT-ATV-4-WHEELER-LAWNMOWER-SNOWBLOWER-0100103-/141155177105?hash=item20dd811291:g:OfAAAOSw3mpXOL9n&vxp=mtr

Jerry

Six-Gun

Teach wrote: »

Make a visit to your local hardware store- - - - -they have these useful, handy devices called "hinges". Put one in the center of each board, and they fold up for easy storage!

Problem solved!
Jerry

Edit: Harbor Freight or Northern Tool has metal ends that fit 2X6 boards for building riding lawn mower ramps. They would also work for deer drags.
Here's one of several designs on Ebay:

http://www.ebay.com/itm/ALUMINIUM-LOADING-RAMP-END-KIT-ATV-4-WHEELER-LAWNMOWER-SNOWBLOWER-0100103-/141155177105?hash=item20dd811291:g:OfAAAOSw3mpXOL9n&vxp=mtr

Jerry

I thought about hinging the boards, but then I'm doubling the overall thickness/space consumed in an already cramped bed when you factor in my bow case, broadhead target (I ALWAYS take a couple of shots after I gear up and before I head to the tree), other assorted gear and now possible ramps.

Now, the metal ends you linked are perfect - exactly what I would need and priced right!